introduction

Tankograd Publishing have rapidly made a name for themselves in the sphere of Modelling and Vehicle reference titles. To say they have been successful is an understatement. Many modellers and enthusiasts hold them in high esteem. Their publications are not just excellent, but timely too.............as can be seen with this title, Sturmgeschutz in Combat.

the content

The book is complete with full German and English text. It's not for the person who requires a full and exhaustive history of the StuG III, since most of the book consists of captioned photographs, but that's not it's purpose. From a modeller's point of view........it's pretty much perfect. There is a history of the vehicle contained within the first eight pages. From it's first conception as the Infantry's 'own' tank, through it's development and all the different Ausfuhrungs, and mentioning the Sturmhaubitze 42, the first section gives the reader a pretty good idea of the vehicles history, purpose and development, although of course for a thoroughly detailed history of the vehicle more references should be sought.

After the text at the beginning of the book there is a one page chart describing the differences between Ausfhurungs, and then on to the meat of the book...........the captioned photographs.

One hundred and nine black and white photographs of the StuG III in action, across all fronts. Most of which I've never seen before. Mostly, two or three to a page, and mostly very clear, the photographs are individually captioned in both German and English text, drawing the reader's attention to the salient points of each photograph. There are some extremely interesting photographs in this book! For example, a StuG III A or B, it's deck filled with riders, crossing a bridge clearly marked 16ton................. that's the 'before' picture, I'd love to see the 'after one! Or how about a StuG III with kill markings on it's barrel? Several examples of StuG III are shown with Ostketten, the special extensions to the tracks that were used to reduce ground pressure on the Eastern Front, and many of the photographs show unusual arrangements of stowage such as motorcycles etc.

in conclusion

What with Osprey's recently released book on modelling the StuG III, and Dragon's soon to be released StuG, this book from Tankograd could not have been published at a better time. It really does shed light on the development and history of the vehicle, it's variants and particularly it's combat use during WWII. The photographs will inspire you with ideas for your next model, and you'll probably find yourself wanting to build many more than just one! Highly recommended.